Noida, Nov 16 (PTI) With the arrest of five Haryana-based men, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang that broke into several shops and stole hundreds of mobile phones worth lakhs of rupees.

Altogether, the police said they have recovered 177 mobile phones, estimated to be worth over Rs 30 lakh, from the gang's possession, but the accused have been involved in the theft of more than 300 phones.

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"An FIR of mobile phone theft from shops was lodged at the Surajpur police station recently after which the case was investigated, leading to the arrest of the five accused," a police spokesperson said.

Those held have been identified as Rashid, Irfan, Sohail, Shabir and Hakimuddin, all from Nuh district in Haryana, the official said.

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The complainant in the case had claimed that over 600 mobile phones had been stolen but later changed the number to 364, the police said.

However, after the arrest, the gang confessed to have stolen 308 mobile phones on the intervening night of November 4 and 5 besides Rs 6,000 cash, a DVR and an LCD monitor during the episode.

"As many as 177 stolen mobile phones, Rs 6,000 cash, the DVR and the LCD monitor have been recovered besides some other items stolen by them in the past. An illegal firearm has also been seized from them," the official said.

The case is being probed further, and the accused have been sent to jail, the official said, adding that Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Harish Chander has rewarded the police team involved in cracking the case with Rs 25,000 cash.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)